Twelve years to the day the Nets acquired Jason Kidd from the Suns, they officially unveiled the players acquired in the only trade to rival that one in franchise history – Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry – in a press conference at Barclays Center.

“To me, this is a great day for Brooklyn, the organization and basketball,” Nets general manager Billy King said. “I’ve known and watched Kevin play for a long time, and the example he’s set on and off the court is one all teams would want. Paul has hit big shots against me here and in Philadelphia, and the JET has been a premier sixth man off the bench.

“It’s a great day, and I’m happy to be able to introduce Kevin, Paul and Jason to the fans of Brooklyn.”

By acquiring Pierce, Garnett and Terry, the Nets brought a combined 47 years of NBA experience and three championship rings to a Nets franchise that is still chasing its first NBA title, and is set to spend over $180 million of owner Mikhail Prokhorov’s fortune to chase one this season. Prokhorov also made a surprise appearance at the press conference, coming out at the end for pictures.

“I think, we’ll be right up there with the best of them,” Pierce said when assessing where the Nets stack up in the Eastern Conference.

For Pierce, the change is a big one, after spending the first 15 years of his career in Boston playing for the Celtics. And while he admitted that

“I think it’s really starting to sink in as we speak, just being in this arena. You saw the trade and you say, ‘OK, there’s a trade.’ But for me to actually be here looking for a place to live, being int his arena, getting to find my way around the city, it’s started to sink in that it’s real. I’m not a Boston Celtic, I’m a Brooklyn Net. That’s the way it is. It’s a business and at some point we all have to move on, and I’m trying to create a little legacy in Brooklyn.